Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 7/21/2008

Question
hi there,
I was wondering if there was a way to check if my parakeet was drinking enough water? I never see her do it,but her dropping are normal. The thing is she has a little discoloration on the edges of her beak. I dont know if thats normal or even from dehydration.. Its basically a white lining.
Thanks again for a response! :) I really appreciate it.

Answer
Hi, Cass,

I picked up your question from the question pool this morning.

If your keet is not drinking enough water, the bird would get sick and/or die.  Water is a "must have" for every living thing.  I never see my keets drink water either, but the level in the water bottle goes down and they are still alive!  Monitor the water level in the bird's water bottle/dish to know for sure.  It's often difficult to tell when you have only 1 keet because of their small size, they don't drink as much as say your dog/cat would.  They only need a couple of drops of water at a time to sustain themselves.

Animals that are dehydrated will often keep their eyes closed as much as possible, so this is another way to tell.  When humans or other animals are dehydrated, you can pick up their skin in an area and if the skin goes back into position quickly/normally, hydration is normal.  If the skin doesn't go back normally, dehydration is present.  However, this is difficult to do on most birds, since an area of skin isn't really available.  But if the bird wasn't drinking properly, the bird would get very ill very quickly (in a matter of days).  

I'm not sure of this "white lining" you are referring to, but it might be that it's just because the beak is thinner around the edges of the beak than on other parts of the beak.  If you are in doubt, consult a certified avian veterinarian.  

Chrys